The Other One
by PastaWar19
Summary: People are dying one by one. Arthur says it's a curse. The Bad Touch Trio has a plan. The Axis is involved. But does Matthew really exist or not? What does it truly mean to be "The Other One"? Alfred vows to uncover the truth. FACE pairings.
1. Prologue

**I know I have, like, three ongoing fics that I should focus on right now, but none of them are about Hetalia, so… **

**HI! *looks around at terrified faces* For squeamish people who dislike gore, this is not the story for you. Yeah, there's a bit of humor and romance sprinkled here and there, but that's not the point. This is _tragedy_. Some characters are going to _die_. If that ain't yo cup o tea, then bugger off.  
**

**You do not have to know the anime/manga Another to be able to read this story. Just enjoy.**

* * *

The Other One

Prologue

Do you know someone called Folkvar Williams?

You see, 40 years ago, when Hetalia High School was still new in World City, there was a student with that name in year 3 class 3. That year, something unbelievable happened in his class. Ever since that incident happened, bad things had started occurring and went on all the way until the present. It all started with Williams and the untimely event that involved him greatly.

Williams was famous since first grade in elementary. He looked decent with soft, golden hair and sparkling blue-violet eyes. He was good in studies and sports, and although his personality was introverted and humble, he was kind and good-hearted. Everyone liked him and he was popular and well-liked among all students and teachers.

However, he died during the school year.

His sudden death wasn't taken lightly by his classmates. They all cried after it happened. The form teacher stopped speaking and the whole class felt haunted. They were never the same again.

Then, one day, a student had cried out, "Folkvar didn't die! Look, he's right there!" He pointed at Williams' old desk and they all started believing in it. No one dared to admit that the bright student had ended up dead and they simply acted as if he was still alive. They spoke to his table and chair or pretended to go home together with him every day during dismissal. It was only their class that took part in this act.

The strangest thing about it all, though, was the class picture taken during the graduation ceremony. On the class photo was Folkvar Williams, sitting there with a serene smile, as if he truly belonged in the photo.

Starting from Williams' death, a strange curse had taken hold of Hetalia High's year 3 class 3.

Forty years later, on this very day, Folkvar's brother's grandson is a student in year 3 class 3, just like he was. His name is Matthew Williams, and he's currently my classmate. My whole class pretends he doesn't exist, though.

My name is Alfred F. Jones. It's creepy how Kiku and Ludwig keep their eyes on me all the time like I'm about to commit some sort of mortal sin, and it's weird how the Bad Touch Trio looks at me like I'm batshit crazy. All I know is that Mattie _does_ exist, and that Arthur's totally wrong about the so-called "curse of death".

But then our classmates are starting to _die_, one by one, and even though I'm the hero, I don't know what to do.

* * *

**Folkvar Williams is based on Vinland (11****th**** century Canada). Vinland was discovered by Norway's Vikings about 1000 CE. Yay for historical accuracy! Folkvar is Old Norse for "guard of the people", by the way.  
**

**I need some feedback a.k.a. REVIEWS. Please. :)  
**


	2. Conor

**The chapter title Conor is Latin for Venture. I'm officially going to make this lean more towards the mystery genre rather than the horror genre. By the way, World City does not exist and neither does Hetalia High lol. **

**I know the characters' ages are messed up here, but it's an AU, right?**

* * *

Chapter One

Conor

On July 4, 1997, a scorching summer greeted my first birthday. My left lung punctured, which is an occurrence most commonly known as pneu… pneumo… pneumo-something. Well, Arthur tells me to remember the term because apparently, it's stupid not to know what you're diagnosed with, but I really just _can't_ pronounce it.

Ah, pneumo_thorax_. That's the word!

Well, anyway, because of my condition, I usually have problems with breathing. That's what caused me to miss my first week of school at Hetalia High, an international school where I transferred recently. You see, my mother died giving birth to me and my father is doing some work in India or Indonesia, wherever that is. That's why my father left me with my grandparents, who are living here in World City, in the freaking awesome U.S. of A!

It was freaking lame, though, how I was confined in the hospital as soon as I arrived.

Wait- someone's knocking on the door. I call out a little hoarsely, "Come in," and I realize how lonely I am when Arthur Kirkland enters the room. The sight of his messy blond hair, emerald green eyes, and bushy eyebrows manage to cheer me up. He looks at me wearily as I sit up on my white hospital bed, excited.

He's my childhood friend. We used to be neighbors back when we both lived in the same place in New York, but we were never schoolmates. He soon moved here to this quiet place. When I found out my dad was going to drop me off here in World, I was ecstatic. I could finally get to see Arthur again after almost a decade!

Fate seemed to be on my side when my grandparents insisted that they enroll me at Hetalia High. Guess what? We're officially classmates. The dazzling opportunity to spend time with him even during class- it blows me away.

It sucks, though, missing the whole first week of school because of stupid medical conditions.

I grin widely. "Artie! I thought you were never going to visit me!"

Arthur rolls his eyes. "It's _Arthur. _You haven't changed since we last saw each other, Alfred. Besides, I couldn't visit you because I've been busy with homework this whole past week."

Oh, how I miss his British accent.

"Are you serious? _Homework_? On the first week of school? Is that even _legal_?" I say incredulously, staring at him, "That makes me not want to go to class… But I will! I know you'll miss me if I don't."

"The first week of school is still school, you bloody wanker. Care more about your studies, why don't you!" he says calmly, ignoring my last comment, "Anyway, I couldn't believe it when I heard from your grandmother that you got sick again. Imagining Alfred Jones actually lying still on a hospital bed isn't easy."

I laugh. "Whatever, Artie-"

"Don't call me that!"

"I'm sure you brought me something to eat!" I continue cheerfully, "The hospital food sucks."

Arthur nods curtly. He hands me a paper bag with a container of delicious _burger _inside. "Of course. Here, I got you a cheeseburger from the best burger chain here in World City. Don't get used to it, though. I only brought you something because you're sick, and that's what a normal person does when a friend's sick."

"Oh, you are _so _taking me to this burger chain as soon as I get out of this place," I say with my mouth full, chewing on the burger happily. The perfect clash of cheese, lettuce, and tomato along with the well-cooked burger itself, sandwiched in between the quality buns and causing all the flavors to-

"Stop describing how the damn thing tastes in your head. You have that silly look on your face again," Arthur snaps, glaring at me. His eyes give him away though. He looks like he misses me too. "I don't even know why you like burgers. You're actually shortening your lifespan when you eat lots of those each day… Anyway, here's the homework for the past week. You have to catch up."

I pretend not to notice the notebook he sets on my bed. "_Catch up_. You forgot the extra ketchup, Artie."

He doesn't laugh. "Well, it's a good thing your collapsed lung is causing you breathing difficulties. Otherwise, I'd be hitting you like I should whenever you annoy me with that stupid nickname. Just knock it off, Alfred."

"Glad to know you're being easy on me," I answer, the smile still on my face, "_Artie_."

* * *

Since it's the weekend, Arthur got to visit me again today. The visit was shorter than yesterday, but he dropped off an album of pictures from our childhood. We spent the few minutes we had browsing through the memories. He yelled at me for laughing hard at his face in one of our embarrassing pictures. Totally not my fault he looked hilarious. It was funny how the nurse had to throw him out yesterday because he excited me too much.

Speaking of the nurse, here he comes right now.

"Hey again, Tino!" I greet him as he comes in with his clipboard. He's soft-spoken and polite, if not slightly feminine for a guy. He has light blond hair and his eyes gaze at me as he takes my blood pressure and stuff.

"Alfred, have you been reading horror novels again?" He asks, concerned, "You're just scaring yourself, you know. Even I notice how you can't sleep easily at night because of these." He picks up one book on my bedside table delicately, flipping through the pages and reading the summary. "HetaOni? It sounds like a Japanese R.P.G…"

I say indignantly, "Don't take it away, Tino! That stuff has nothing to do with my lungs."

"That may be true, but Doctor Oxenstierna doesn't want his patients lacking sleep whatever their condition may be," he replies quietly, putting the book back on the table. "You should worry more about your health rather than haunted mansions and evil aliens."

"Yeah," I answer sheepishly, remembering his stubbornness regarding the novel, "But it's boring in here! If only I remembered to bring my Marvel comics instead, maybe it wouldn't be a problem… My grandparents wouldn't be able to find those comics if I asked them to bring those over, anyway. My room's still a mess."

"Whatever, Alfred. Just follow the doctor's orders and you'll be fine. Personally, I'd entrust Berwa- I mean Doctor Oxenstierna with my life," he replies earnestly, opening the door and about to walk out of the room, "You have guests waiting outside, by the way. They're wearing the Hetalia High uniform and one of them has flowers."

Guests? I wave as he leaves and rack my brain for any people who could visit me at this time of day. Arthur was here before lunch and my grandparents came after. It does sound sad, but I don't know anyone else in this town.

The door opens. Two teenagers my age that I don't know enter the room and I take my time looking at them. They're both wearing the Hetalia High uniform and I realize that they could be my classmates.

The first guy has glasses and dark brown hair combed back neatly in place. He nods his head politely when he enters the room and I can't help but notice how graceful his fingers are as he closes the door and gives me a bouquet of flowers. "You are Alfred F. Jones, correct?" he asks. I can't quite place his accent.

I nod, taking the bouquet and sitting up. "Yup, that's me. Who are you people, though?"

The girl behind him grins at me cheerfully. She has long, light brown hair and friendly green eyes. "We're your classmates, Alfred. I'm Elizaveta Hedervary, the female class representative of year 3 class 3. The guy who gave you the flowers is Roderich Edelstein. He's the male class representative. We just wanted to welcome you to Hetalia High." I check her accent as somewhat similar to the dude's, which I still can't figure out…

"Sorry if I'm being nosy, but where are you guys from? I've never heard your accents before in any action movie before," I venture, avoiding their eyes and poking at the flowers, "Is it German? I _do _know it's European."

Elizaveta laughs, somewhat nervously. "Yes, that's right. We're European. Anyway, we've heard about your illness. We hope you can get out of the hospital soon, so everyone else in our class can finally meet you."

"I've had a smooth recovery," I answer enthusiastically, noticing instantly that she evaded my question. What's wrong with not being from America, though? It's not like I'd treat them any differently. "I think I'll be able to come by Monday."

She nods. I realize she looks pretty. "That's great."

I notice Roderich and Elizaveta exchange strange glances before looking back at me. Maybe they're a couple. They even look good together, if not the guy being too uptight. Roderich asks, "We've heard from Arthur that you've lived New York, same as he did. Is it your first time living here, though?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Have you stayed here in the past?" he asks again.

"I'm not sure… This is my mother's hometown and I was born here. We left but never came back."

"Where have you stayed in the past few months?" he asks once more.

"Like I said, New York. I've been there my whole life- well, we _did _stay in Washington D.C. when I was three, but that was just for a year," I reply, slightly suspicious. Reading the atmosphere was something I honestly was never good at, and Arthur managed to blatantly point that out several times when we were still kids.

However, I could tell that there was a certain level of intensity in the air as they exchanged glances again.

Elizaveta breaks the silence, smiling at me in a friendly way, "Um, I think we should go now since it's getting a bit late. It was very nice meeting you, Alfred. I look forward to seeing you again on Monday."

"Yeah. Bye, guys. Thanks for the visit," I tell them earnestly. Elizaveta waved and Roderich shook my hand. Formal much? I wouldn't be surprised to find out him and Arthur being friends in class.

They exit the room and I can't help but wonder why their little visit seemed strange. It's as if they were hiding something when I asked them questions and asking me strange questions back. I could ask Artie, though…

* * *

The window shows the sun setting outside, colors like gold and pink and purple splashed around in a haze.

I snicker to myself at the idea of exploring the hospital without the doctor's permission. Even though I'm going to get out of the boring place tomorrow, I still can't resist the temptation of doing something interesting. If Arthur knew, he'd probably try to drag me back to my room but fail epically.

Besides, it really sucked ass when Doctor Oxenstierna told me that I had to get out of the hospital the day after tomorrow, not today. I already told the class representatives that I'd be back by today! Not like I could oppose the guy. He's fucking scary.

Then I formulated this genius plan.

I spot my nurse Tino pushing a cart of vaccines down the hall and I quickly try to hide behind a wall. It's too late. I curse silently as he sees me and smiles. He walks to my direction, still pushing the cart.

"Don't tell the doc about this, Tino!" I plead, looking around us to make sure no one was listening.

He frowns. "Okay then. Just make sure Berwald doesn't see you. He'll know I let you wander around."

"Berwald?" I ask.

"Um, I meant Doctor Oxenstierna."

It takes a few seconds for the information to register in my brain. "You guys are on a first name basis?"

Tino shushes me. "Yes, yes, he's not as scary as you think, you know. Now go! If someone sees me talking to you right before you speed off somewhere, they might tell him and it won't be good for you. Such a troublemaker…" He walks past me to some other patient's room.

I look around me before making my way towards the elevators. I wait for a few seconds before a tiny 'ding' sound signals the elevator doors opening. Soon enough, they do open and I go in. I scan the numbers of each floor. Where can I go…?

Before the doors close, a guy my age enters. I feel strange vibes as he comes in and stands a small distance away from me, seemingly avoiding my stare and looking down at the floor. He has wavy bond hair that's slightly longer than mine and his eyes, which are an unusual shade of blue-violet, are framed by glasses. What makes him stranger is the large, white, stuffed polar bear he's hugging in his arms.

He's also wearing the same school uniform that Arthur was wearing when he visited me.

I strike up a conversation as the elevator descends. "You're from Hetalia High, aren't you? I am, too. I missed the first week of school because of my pneu… pneumo- aw damn, I forgot again. Well, what're you doin' here?"

He answers really softly, "I'm going to visit someone I know."

I look at the button he pressed on the elevator wall. B2… _Basement Two_? Who the hell is there to visit at Basement Two? I remember some of the scenes that I read about in my horror novels and realize that hospital basements are usually mortuaries or morgues for the patients that die and need to have autopsies on them.

Wait- he's visiting someone from the freaking _morgue_?

"Oh, uh, um…" I feel myself tense up as the elevator arrives.

"You wouldn't understand," the shy guy says quietly, "I just have to go and give this bear to… my other half."

Other half? I don't understand what he means but my eyes follow him as the elevator stops and the doors open. He steps out and continues walking down the dark hallway which, I can't help but notice, smells so much like blood and death. The air seems to turn cold as he looks back at me, and I see this sad look in his eyes.

His _strange _eyes shining behind the glasses. I can't help but feel something's out of place.

The elevator doors are about to close but I press hard on the 'open' button as if in a trance, feeling like I want to continue talking to the guy. I call out to him tentatively, "What's your name?"

My voice echoes around the dark corridor and he doesn't look at me, his back facing me instead.

"I'm Matthew Williams."

* * *

Arthur laughs as I tell him the creepy plot of the horror novel I'm reading. "That's absolute tosh, Alfred! I can't believe you scare yourself every night believing in that. They can't even make their own exit out of that mansion, they buy things from a toilet, and they named the monster _Steve_? What does that bloody U.F.O. want, anyway?"

"I dunno, man. I'm not done reading it yet but I'll keep you posted," I say seriously as he continues laughing.

We're in the living room of the house and Arthur decided to visit. I was surprised when he entered the house, but otherwise happy and relieved that there was someone to humor me on the day before first setting foot in class.

He smirks. "Speaking of horror, there are lots of superstitions you need to know before entering Hetalia High." I roll my eyes but he doesn't seem to notice. "Firstly, if you hear a crow while you're on the roof, you have to step first with your left foot when coming back inside. Otherwise, you'll get badly injured. Secondly, you must not fall on the hill near the back door. If you do, you'll flunk your tests."

"Artie, is it really necessary?" I say, yawning widely.

"Thirdly, whatever your class has decided to do, you must carry it out absolutely," He finishes, looking at me with a ridiculously solemn look on his face. I laugh instead, bending forward as my stomach starts to hurt.

He doesn't look pleased. "Your damn lungs might collapse if you continue, you blithering idiot."

I sigh, wiping the tears out of my eyes. "Okay, fine. I'll follow the superstitions. Why do those even exist?"

"How should I know? Hetalia High is a really cursed school. Everyone knows that."

"Why do you believe in curses, magic, and occult crap, anyway?"

"It is not crap, Alfred! Your U.F.O.s are the ones that don't exist! Besides, you don't want to admit that ghosts and evil spirits scare you," he says smugly, his emerald green eyes shining with contempt.

"They do scare me, fine! But they really don't exist."

The topic changes and the afternoon drags on to night. I remember the weird encounter I had with the bear-wielding guy yesterday and decide to tell Arthur. He'd probably understand why the chills went up my spine and the temperature started turning cold when I talked to the kid, since he believes in all that crap.

Maybe ghosts and evil spirits _are_ real.

Arthur is silent as I insist once more that my encounter with the strange, violet-eyed boy actually happened. He doesn't believe me, which in itself makes me think that something is wrong because the funny kid with the bushy eyebrows had _always _believed me back then. Well, maybe because we were both stupid when we were children.

"I'm being serious here, man!" I repeat for the third time, "The kid went right down to the freaking _morgue_ and said that he had to give his white teddy bear to a certain someone down there. What if-"

"What did you say his name was?" He interrupts me. It's the first he's said for a while.

"His name is Matthew Williams and I'm telling you he exists!" I yell.

He gives me an irritated look and puts a hand on my shoulder, making me sit down. I sit down impatiently.

"Look, Alfred," Arthur says slowly, as if talking to a child, "I want to believe you, but I can't. First of all, I don't understand what's so strange about his eyes. Eyes _are_ supposed to shine, you know. The moisture-"

"I know enough about eyes, Artie. I have a pair of my own, thank you very much! There was just something… off."

"Fine, I believe you," he continues patiently, "But why is this affecting you? He's just some kid you met at the hospital who wanted to go to the morgue with a teddy bear. What is it about him that makes you so riled up?"

I'm dumbfounded. "I… I don't know… He just seemed so lonely, like he didn't deserve it."

Arthur nods. "Let it be, then. It's not like you're going to see him again. You don't have to see him again."

I look at him suspiciously. "You know something. You've met a Matthew Williams before and you don't want to admit that I'm right! What's going on, Artie? You're hiding something and I don't like it!"

"Well you certainly are full of beans today," he answers, pissed, "What have I to hide?"

"You know lots of superstitions about Hetalia High, but I have a feeling there's something you're not telling me!"

He glares at me, exasperated. I glare back fiercely, daring him to say more. He doesn't.

Ever since Elizaveta and Roderich visited me, I knew something wasn't right with the cautious way they spoke to me. When I encountered Matthew in the elevator, there was this feeling that told me maybe he was involved in something that I had to help him with. And now Arthur- he's hiding stuff from me, for what reasons?

All of it doesn't add up.

* * *

**Okay hi. I really liked the idea of making Finland a nurse and Sweden a doctor. The rest of the Nordics will make their appearances soon, don't worry. So will the rest of the APH cast too, obviously. YAAAY~**

**For Another fans: I did not want Canada with an eyepatch because I didn't think it would fit him. Sorry. :/**


	3. Aenigma

**The chapter title Aenigma is Latin for Enigma (they seem alike, anyway lol). **

**Things get even more mysterious in this part. And get ready to welcome more APH characters~!**

* * *

Chapter Two

Aenigma 

The homeroom teacher and the co-homeroom teacher stand in front of me in the faculty room, and I try to act like a good student- for now. They're filling me in on the important stuff I need to know upon entering class. Boring stuff, mostly, like policies and behaving.

"I'm Mr. Ivan Braginski," the homeroom teacher says, smiling. He has ash blond hair and amethyst or purple eyes. There's this creepy aura around him, though, that makes me uneasy. "And this is Ms. Katyusha Braginskaya." She has the same ash blond hair as his, but her eyes are kinder and she seems plain nice, which makes me relieved.

I say curiously, "Is it just me or are your surnames similar?"

"_Da_," Mr. Braginski replies, nodding, "We're siblings, actually. And Russian."

"Oh! Cool," I answer.

Ms. Braginskaya puts on a serious face. "Now, Alfred, we're going to tell you something very important about class 3 and you have to pay close attention to what we're about to tell you-"

The bell rings. I look outside the faculty door and see students rushing to their classrooms. The two teachers exchange weird glances and I still can't stop thinking how strange everything is. They smile at me and tell me to get to class.

I enter the room and everyone is making noise and talking like there's no tomorrow. It's normal, actually. I admit that I'm still in a summer mood. They don't notice me as I walk inside, and I find myself instantly looking for Arthur Kirkland. He's talking to his seatmate, an Asian guy, and his back is facing me.

The noise continues. "Today's the day, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Roderich says he isn't _the one_ but he isn't a hundred percent sure."

"We have no choice but to find out ourselves, right?"

"Definitely. If it's him, then things should start happening as soon as today."

"Don't say something like that! We should be hoping _nothing _happens."

Mr. and Ms. B come inside the room. The classroom immediately quiets down and they sit down in their proper seats as the two teachers go in front. I follow them and already feel people noticing me and gazing at me.

I stand confidently in front of the whole class, looking at my new classmates with my best smile. Leaving a good first impression will motivate them to welcome me with open arms like a true hero. I was never the type to be shy in front of new people. I'd rather be the catalyst of good deeds instead!

Mr. Braginski stands next to me with a sweet smile on his face. He gestures to me and tells the class in a gentle voice laced with honey, "Everyone, this is your new classmate Alfred F. Jones. Welcome him to class 3."

He nods to me and I grin, turning to the class. "Hey guys. Like Mr. B said, I'm Alfred. I hope we have a great year together and stuff! Being new ain't easy, but I'm happy to be in Hetalia High. Please treat me kindly!"

Now here's the strange part. They all just look at me with serious looks on their faces, to say the least. And that's the least! Some of them look downright scared or nervous, but I really don't get it. Mr. Braginski isn't _that _scary. Maybe they're intimidated by the first impression I give them, but I'm obviously the hero, not the villain.

I look to my friend Arthur, seated in the second row beside an Asian dude. He stares at me with his green eyes and freaking _smirks_, which is the only reaction I receive from any of them. I give him a confused look and he shakes his head, as if there's nothing to explain, and turns to look at the teachers like a good student.

"You can sit down over there, Alfred," says Ms. B, pointing somewhere in the fourth row, far from Arthur.

I walk there and sit down. I look at my seatmate, who is leaning on the window with a bored expression on his face. I smile at him and he nods back.

However, someone else catches my attention. I turn and find that sitting in the last row is Matthew Williams, the kid I met in the elevator the other day. Apparently, we're classmates. If I had known, I would have talked to him longer in the hospital. He doesn't notice me, but he looks the same with his blond hair and strange eyes, staring out the window absentmindedly. I stare at him for a few seconds. He still seems… odd.

Class starts and I try to pay attention, but it's just so boring. I see Arthur diligently taking notes on the other side of the room and roll my eyes. He's definitely going to be one of the honor students this year, just like when we were kids. Pretty girls catch my attention, but not for long. They're busy looking serious and stuff.

The lesson drones on and I realize that the atmosphere is really different. It's too quiet to even be a real classroom and everything's too unnatural. It's like everyone's trying to avoid something…

* * *

Arthur and I are outside the classroom and he's giving me some of his notes from last week so I can read them and have an easier time during class. He is about to explain some boring part again when we're interrupted.

"Yo, newcomer."

I turn to find three guys grinning at me. _My saviors. _

"Uh, hi," I answer gratefully, watching as Arthur turns to them and gives them his best British glare. The scene that follows unfolds so quickly that I don't even have time to process it all in my brain.

The first guy is pale-skinned and has silver-white hair and crimson eyes, which surprisingly don't make him look scary but rather more awesome. He steps forward and says coolly with a German accent, "Hey Alfred. I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt. Come over for a sec? We're gonna show you around school."

They seem friendly enough, so I nod. "Okay, sure!"

Arthur blocks my way furiously. "He is _not _going anywhere with you lot. You're just bad influences!"

The second guy stops me and grabs my shoulder. He has wavy blond hair that reaches his shoulders and blue eyes that gaze at me flirtatiously. I feel somewhat disturbed. "_Je m'appelle _Francis Bonnefoy. Arthur hasn't shown you around the campus, hmm? He claims he's a gentleman yet he can't do that one thing. Doesn't he know you're a new student here?" I can tell he's obviously French.

My childhood friend blushes. "Well, frog, I was helping him catch up with the lessons that he missed last week. I'm sure doing that is even more important than showing him around. Besides, he can find his way on his own."

The third guy laughs cheerfully. "It's good to know that he's independent and all, but he might actually get lost if he doesn't know where he's going all the time. I'm Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo, by the way." His accent gives him away as Spanish, and he's tan-skinned with jade green eyes and dark brown hair.

"I haven't forgiven you for what you've done back when we were middle school, you bloody-"

"Don't worry about Arthur," I interrupt loudly, smiling, "I don't mind making friends."

"You're not serious! These guys aren't worth it!"

Arthur reluctantly lets me go with the three, after a few seconds of trying to escape Francis' hugs. I laugh as Gilbert sends a bad finger behind us as we walk away and Antonio mutters something about tomatoes.

They show me around, taking their time, and I go along with their silly antics and funny jokes, realizing that they're probably the cool guys in the class. I try to familiarize myself with the campus and the different locations of the rooms. The creepy feeling I got in the classroom didn't go away no matter how much I tried to ignore it.

Somehow, I find them too fast-paced even for me, with the prideful and self-proclaimed awesome Gilbert, the coquettish and perverted Francis, and the oblivious and happy-go-lucky Antonio. Maybe the three were made for each other or perhaps their group doesn't have room for an avenging hero who promotes justice.

We're in front of the field, which has students walking leisurely around and trees making the place look pretty.

"You guys seem pretty close," I comment, amused as they goof off, "How about Arthur, though?"

Francis laughs, running a hand through his hair in a carelessly handsome way. "Well, Arthur and I go way back. We were close friends even in middle school. He can be adorable at times but we're mostly at odds."

"Yeah, I guess I can relate," I say softly, "He tends to get angry easily and stuff."

"I dunno, Francis. Maybe he hates you even more because you're always trying to grope him every time his back is turned?" Gilbert suggests deviously, pulling lightly at Francis' hair, "That's what you do to everyone, anyway. You flirt left and right as long as they're good-looking. Don't say otherwise, Frenchie!"

"I wasn't going to!" He gently pushed the albino away from him. "And don't touch the hair, Gil!"

Antonio shakes his head. "The relationship between Francis and Arthur is like the relationship between you and Roderich, you know. You're not really one to talk, _mi amigo_," He earns himself a playful smack on the face.

"The guy's a real pansy! I don't understand why Elizaveta likes him. He just plays the piano, that's all."

"_Oui,_ that's right. But what do _you _do that can possibly make her like you?"

Gilbert scowls. "I'm awesome, that's what!"

"That's not enough if you want her to love you. _L'amour _is more complicated than that."

"_Si_, I've had experience too," Antonio butts in offhandedly.

"How's your new boyfriend then, by the way? His name was Feliciano, wasn't it?"

"Actually, I found out Feliciano had a twin brother named Lovino when I visited his house. Lovino's a lot cuter and he plays really hard to get, so I find myself attracted to him more. Feliciano takes it all lightly, though."

"_Mein Gott_, Antonio! What does this Lovino dude have that his twin doesn't, anyway?"

I stare at them incredulously. "Wait, what? Slow down, guys! I'm new here! Francis tries to grope Arthur and flirts with everyone else, Gilbert likes Elizaveta, who unfortunately likes Roderich, and Antonio liked someone named Feliciano but got attracted to his twin brother Lovino instead? Are you guys for real?"

Francis nods calmly. "That's all correct. You see, Alfred, we're known as the Bad Touch Trio."

"Wow. You guys have bad touch or something? If I join, will everyone hate me too or…?"

Antonio looks at his two friends, confused. "People hate us?"

"_Nein_, of course not! Alfred's just exaggerating," the red-eyed teen answered nonchalantly, giving me an accusing look, "Fine, Arthur finds us annoying and Roderich clearly doesn't like us for bugging Elizaveta all the time, but it's not like the whole class actually hates us. We're too awesome for that! They should even be grateful."

"Grateful? For what? Being playboys?"

Finally, they all stare at me with solemn looks on their faces. I'm taken aback. The past few minutes showing me around the campus were spent really quickly with laughs and jokes and whatnot. Suddenly, the atmosphere turns cold and I don't know what to make of their change of attitudes.

The wind picks up and a few girls on the field run back inside. Francis gazes at them and explains quietly, as if he doesn't want anyone else to hear, "We do things for our class that they don't know about, Alfred. We're telling you because you seem like a person who'd want to help. You see, every single one of our classmates is in danger."

I smirk. "This is a trick, right? I know I'm a heroic guy and all, but I don't see how everyone can be in danger."

Gilbert frowns. "No one's told you yet! Do you believe in ghosts and spirits, Alfred?"

The question surprises me and I don't know what to say. My voice won't let me speak and I can't do anything else but stare at the three, waiting for an answer. Their gazes transfer to me and I can't help but think that I prefer being with them when they're goofing off. "Wh-what?"

I hit myself mentally, because a hero does _not _stutter.

"Supernatural sightings and the like, you know. Not only ghosts and spirits, but also psychic powers," Antonio continues softly, looking out at the field. "Things that can't be explained through scientific methods. Things that might not exist. Things that people don't usually believe in."

The first thing that I think of is that maybe they're kidding me around and simply acting serious, but it seems so real. I answer uncertainly, "I dunno why you guys are asking me this stuff… Arthur's believed in them since we were kids, though. You should ask him instead."

Francis tilts his head and stares at me carefully. "Not Arthur. We're asking about you, Alfred."

"Well, I don't believe in them. They creep me out and that's it," I say, weirded out, "Are U.F.O.s counted?"

Before they could answer, I see a figure from the corner of my eye and recognize it instantly. I turn and run towards it, yelling over my shoulder, "Wait a minute, guys! I'll just see you later and stuff!"

Matthew Williams had sat down under a tree at the farthest end of the field.

* * *

"Uhh, Matthew?" I say, unsure, as I run towards his direction. "That's your name, right? Hey!"

He looks up at me and I can't help but notice his weird blue-violet eyes, glinting behind the glasses. "Why… Why are you…?"

"I'm Alfred Jones, the new student in class. I saw you sitting at the back earlier," I answer cheerfully, giving him a friendly smile. His gaze intensifies and the slight breeze ruffles his blond hair as he stands up. "Matthew?"

He shakes his head at me and starts walking off. "You shouldn't be talking to me."

I grab his arm, surprised at his reaction. "What? Why? Hey-"

Matthew frowns, giving me a strange look. "You should be more careful, Alfred. Be _very _careful."

Careful? About what? All I did was talk to him! Jeez, maybe he's antisocial or something? My thoughts are interrupted when the bell rings, signalling the end of lunch time. I casually put my hands in my pockets as I walk back to the direction where I left Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis. They're leaning on the wall and waiting for me, whispering about something when I make my presence heard.

They all glance at me seriously. Francis speaks, crossing his arms. "The bell has rung, Alfred."

I nod, confused at their glances. "Uh, yeah. I heard it too."

Antonio laughs, breaking the icy silence and putting an arm around my shoulder. "Let's go! It's not a good start if you're late on the first day, you know. By the way, where'd you get that jacket? It's similar to the one that Lovino wears all the time. Probably the brand or…"

Gilbert mumbles something to Francis behind me, and I can swear they're talking about me.

What did I do wrong? Why is everyone acting so weird?

* * *

It's P.E. and everyone's running laps around the field. The teacher's pretty strict, yelling at them to go faster. I can tell Arthur's having a hard time trying to catch up and the Bad Touch Trio's not really taking it seriously, laughing whenever someone trips. Elizaveta's actually doing pretty well- the best among all the girls, in fact- right then and there passing by the Asian guy who was leading.

Well, I'm just sitting here at the bench, watching them go at it, because my stupid lung condition is preventing me from doing any strenuous activity. If I could join them, I bet I'd be at the front lines too.

I hear someone walking towards me and turn to see Roderich sitting down beside me. He has bandages wrapped around his left foot and winces as it brushes the ground softly. I nod to him.

"Hey, is that an injury? What happened?" I ask curiously.

He sighs. "A while ago, I was talking to Elizaveta about something when Gilbert suddenly ran up to us and pushed me for some stupid reason. I fell down and obviously, my foot got hurt. I can't join P.E. for now. You're here because of your lungs, I presume?"

"Yeah," I reply, grinning, "Did you fall down somewhere near the back door, by the way? Arthur told me that you'll flunk your tests if you did. It's some sort of superstition or something."

"Oh, that. Luckily not. Well, I honestly don't believe in superstitions. I'm not surprised about Arthur, though. He's quite eccentric in that field of interest. I don't understand what fascinates him so much about it," he answers, adjusting his glasses.

I chuckle. "I know, right? He's always been like that, ever since we were kids."

We quiet down as we decide to watch our classmates run laps. Most of them are taking it seriously but a handful are merely having fun with their friends while the teacher's not looking (specifically a certain trio). I gaze at Arthur, who's visibly out of breath as he slows down alongside an Asian guy, and at Elizaveta, who's really giving it her all as she competes with Gilbert.

That's when I notice Matthew isn't anywhere to be seen.

I'm about to ask Roderich about it when he speaks first. "I saw you hanging around with Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis earlier during lunch time. Did they tell you anything strange?"

"Strange?" I reply, puzzled. I remember that when I went over to Matthew to talk to him, the three _were_ trying to tell me something. They looked really serious about it, too. Could it have been important? "No, they just showed me around the campus."

Roderich scowls. "Is that all? Are you sure, Alfred?"

Why is everyone so serious when talking to me? "Yeah, I'm pretty sure, man. That's all that happened."

He nods, looking away uneasily. "I see."

There's a short silence as I ponder on everything that happened today. Arthur's trying to hide something from me, the three weirdoes in my class were actually about to tell me something important during lunchtime, I tried to talk to Matthew but he simply warned me to be careful, and Roderich's being suspicious while interrogating me. Could things get any weirder?

I casually ask, "Anyway, where's Matthew?"

Roderich tenses beside me. "Wh-what?"

"Matthew. The blond guy who wears glasses and sits at the back in the classroom," I clarify, narrowing my eyes as I watch him bite his lip and look at me worriedly. "He's not here. I'm pretty sure he was present earlier."

He's quiet for a few seconds as he struggles to say something. "U-um… Who- ugh, excuse me?"

I'm taken aback by his answer. When I talked to Arthur about Matthew, he gave a reaction similar to this as well. What's so wrong about that guy? Is it taboo to talk about him or something? He's just a normal classmate as far as I know.

The wind rustles a few trees to our right and I gaze up at the sky as leaves fly off from the branches. Then, something attracts my attention. I see a figure of a person standing on the rooftop of the building next to the field, watching us.

It looks like… Matthew?

I don't know why, but I'm suddenly determined to go up to talk to him. I want to find out the truth as to why he's always disappearing everywhere and why everyone refuses to talk to or about him. I leave Roderich behind me and mutter a quick excuse to the P.E. teacher as I run towards the building.

My chest tightens- probably because of my stupid lungs- and I try to slow down a little. I briskly go up the stairs until the rooftop and open the door. The wind brushes my cheeks softly and I look around for Matthew.

He's leaning on the railing, still motionlessly watching our classmates on the field. I approach him as he turns and looks at me, obviously quite shocked. He tilts his head. "Why are you here?"

I ignore his question. "Why aren't you in P.E. class? I'm positive you're not hurt anywhere. Are you sick?"

Matthew clenches his fists. "No… Why did you come here?"

I ignore his question again. "What were you doing in the hospital last week? That's where we met, remember? You went down to the basement- to the _morgue_- and you said you had to give your teddy bear to someone. Who was that?"

He stares at me disdainfully. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I like the way you're asking me."

"Agh, naw, I was just curious," I reply, smiling sheepishly, "I really don't mean to force you to answer or anything."

"Alfred," he says quietly, looking down at his shoes, "Did you know that our class, the 3rd class of the 3rd year, is cursed? People link our class closest to death and extremely cursed, compared to the other classes. Not just closest to death, but closest to tragic and unimaginable death. The whole school knows it."

I look at him, very confused. "Wait, hold on! What do you mean by closest to death? Is this another superstition?"

Matthew stares up at me, alarmed. "You- you don't know anything. You really don't know anything!"

"Okay, now I'm insulted," I answer playfully, "I may not be the smartest of the bunch, but I still know science and history stuff. Fine, I'm a bit weak when it comes to math, but I can handle it! I know stuff and-"

He interrupts me softly, "No, that's not it. You don't know about _it_. No one's told you yet. Since that's the case, I'm going to warn you, Alfred, and I already warned you before. You have to be _very _careful. It may have started already."

I frown. "Careful? Now you lost me. What started?"

"They'll tell you soon. They're wrong for not telling you yet, but they'll tell you soon," Matthew says, giving me a small smile, "Just remember that it has started. And it's best if you don't get too close to me."

"What? Why? Wait, Matthew!"

"Bye."

He walks towards the door to exit the rooftop. A crow squawks somewhere nearby and it echoes as the wind picks up again. Suddenly, I remember the very first superstition Arthur told me about Hetalia High. "_Firstly, if you hear a crow while you're on the roof, step first with your left foot when coming back inside. Otherwise, you'll get badly injured."_

I'm about to call out to Matthew to warn him, but it's too late. He's gone inside.

And the first foot he stepped on was the right.

* * *

**It was interesting writing this chapter. Alfred's in some deep shit, ya know. He better be careful lol.**

**Also, please give me feedback by reviewing. :D**


End file.
